Roller Hockey

A new era dawns for high school roller hockey

By Phillip Brents

Saturday, Nov. 11, 2000, will be circled as a red letter day for roller hockey enthusiasts in suburban south San Diego County. That’s the date that nine teams from the Metro Conference could officially begin practice as a sanctioned CIF sport within the San Diego Section.

The first official league games rolled onto the court at RollerSkateLand in Chula Vista on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

"It’s great. Seeing this thing from its inception to it now being a CIF sport, the goal has been achieved. Now we have to make it work in the South Bay. If we can do that, it will start to grow through the rest of the county and then the state. It’s a real ground-breaker for us," explained Hilltop High School coach Dan Vaccaro, who has helped champion the sport’s cause for the past several years as a recognized CIF sport before the San Diego Section’s Board of Managers voted to sanction the sport within the Metro Conference last spring.

The Metro Conference is the first athletic body in the state to embrace high school roller hockey as a CIF sport. The Sweetwater district is one of the largest enrollment districts within the San Diego Section with more than 32,000 students.

Spearheading the decisive drive to get roller hockey officially included in the CIF slate was Sweetwater Union High School District Superintendent Dr. Ed Brand, whom Vaccaro lauded for his effort. Equipment was ordered for 12 field players and one goaltender for all schools in the district and a 14-game schedule was put together.

Roller hockey is classified as a winter sport along with soccer, basketball and wrestling within the California Interscholastic Federation. Teams are now bound by CIF rules and regulations, one of which directly affects players: the maintenance of academic eligibility with a minimum 2.0 (C) grade point average.

The proposal was for the Sweetwater district’s schools to field teams in the inaugural CIF league. There was speculation that as many as 40 teams from around the county might petition to apply for membership within the conference, but the decision was made by district administrators not to allow participation by non-district club teams in this trial season.

The San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference, which concluded its fifth season of operation in March 2000, is scheduled to operate an independent playing circuit for a sixth season. Four Sweetwater district schools had participated in the high school club league for the past several years but will now drop out to form their own CIF circuit.

The San Diego conference boasted a membership of 31 teams last season. The Monte Vista Monarchs — three-time San Diego County champions — advanced to the semifinals of the 32-team varsity 2000 State Cup Tournament and finished second to "national champion" Redlands in the AAA finals at the 2000 NARCh Varsity Cup.

"It’s my understanding that the high school club league will continue to go on. The only difference is that it will no longer have a South Bay league," Vaccaro explained. "Now that we’re CIF, it’s up to the coaches and staff to make this go. It will take time to develop."

The Metro Conference will feature nine teams within its ranks in this start-up season: Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Chula Vista, Southwest, Hilltop, Mar Vista, Castle Park, Sweetwater and Montgomery. Teams will play a 14-game schedule with most teams playing one another twice while others just once. Some teams will meet each other three times in the unbalanced slate that also juggles practice time into the scheduling formula. A league banner will be awarded but not a CIF banner, as there are not yet enough schools participating in the sport among the section’s 97 recognized members.

Eastlake and Hilltop shared last season’s South Bay League title as members of the San Diego roller hockey conference. Overall, Hilltop has either won outright possession or shares of titles all three South Bay League championship seasons that were contested in the San Diego club loop.

Response to the new sport was positive, according to all parties. During initial informational meetings on campus, approximately 30 students showed up at both Eastlake and Hilltop high schools, and response was also labeled as "positive" at Castle Park High. In fact, the turnout was so positive that there was the possibility of forming junior varsity teams besides varsity teams.

"It’s been real positive with the numbers at some of the schools. But even if we only have (the nine) teams the first year, we still have a new sport," Vaccaro said.

Said Eastlake coach Jeff Mechling: "It’s going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out but it’s exciting to be on the cutting edge of the sport."

It’s the newness of the sport that has many individuals excited about the first CIF season.

"I’m very excited and proud to have been chosen as the first coach for the team," said Gene Garcia, who will coach the Castle Park High School entry in the CIF circuit. Garcia’s two sons, Arturo, a sophomore, and Richard, a freshman, will play for the Trojans. Both are honor students academically and have perennially ranked near the top of the scoring table in local house leagues where they have played for the past eight years.

Because of CIF regulations that prohibit same season competition on outside (non-interscholastic) teams, both the Garcia siblings had to make a choice of whether to play in club leagues or for the high school team. They chose to represent their school.

While the Trojans are a first-year entry in the league, some players will bring experience from club competition to the team. "Right now, it’s going to be tough with other high schools having teams for a long time,"Gene Garcia said. "We’re focusing on just getting it started as a CIF sport. Now that it’s CIF, it’s going to be huge."